Thanks to rapid technological shifts and market changes, their job roles are constantly evolving, and they place more value on mission-supporting results rather than simply "clocking in" from 9 to 5. Also, many of these individuals believe that an ideal work space doesn't exist in a traditional office. Who are we describing? Knowledge workers, the vast majority of whom are seeking informal working environments that are less "controlling," according to a recent survey from Unify. The resulting report, "The Way We Work," defines knowledge workers as people who "think for a living" and engage with technology day-to-day. Most indicate that they're working as part of a virtual team more than ever. To stay connected, they depend on a mix of traditional technology tools (such as email) and newer cloud-based, on-demand solutions. These tools enable the workers to think more creatively and make quicker decisions. "Work is so much more complicated today than just the hours put in during any given day," writes Jon Pritchard, CEO at Unify, in the report's introduction. "In the average office, knowledge workers … have to contend with generational gaps, digital transformations, the on-demand economy, the fast evolving nature of work, frustrating technology and the growing realization that many of their jobs won't be in existence in the future. … As business leaders, we need to start shaping our businesses, our office spaces and the communications tools within them to suit the modern knowledge worker—or [we] stand a real risk of losing our top talent." An estimated 9,000 global employees took part in the research, which was conducted by Censuswide.

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